Leaving (Part 2)

"Please instruct me, Uncle Hizashi!"

Before his words had even faded, the boy used a Body Flicker Technique to arrive in the center of the yard.

"Good boy, not bad!" Hizashi praised sincerely.

Although the speed of that Body Flicker Technique was not especially fast in Hizashi and Hiashi's eyes, compared to Genin of the same level, it was far ahead.

It was almost comparable to a Chunin's.

"Take this!" Unable to wait any longer, Hizashi charged forward with a step and attacked.

The Hyuga Clan was famous for taijutsu, so naturally Hiashi and the others were testing Yizhe mainly through taijutsu.

Of course, the Hyuga Clan did not lack ninjutsu. It was simply that they incorporated nearly all their ninjutsu into taijutsu. Though many of their secret techniques were technically taijutsu, Nintaijutsu was a more fitting name for them.

Considering Yizhe's age and training, Hizashi did not use his full strength, only fifty percent. Nor did he immediately use any killing moves; instead, he closed in and exchanged basic Gentle Fist strikes with him.

Even without Hizashi using his full strength, after several dozen exchanges, Yizhe increasingly felt unable to keep up.

This kid was good! Both Hizashi and Hiashi were quite satisfied with Yizhe's performance.

Though Yizhe was being steadily forced back, his ability to hold on with difficulty was already extremely rare in the brothers' eyes.

At his age, there were only a handful of people capable of reaching this level.

No good! If this keeps going, I probably won't be able to block more than a few more moves! Feeling his hands grow heavier and the numbness spreading through his arms, Yizhe sensed trouble.

First, I need to break free from this disadvantageous situation!

With that thought, Yizhe secretly gathered strength in his legs. The instant Hizashi threw a punch, he raised a guard, borrowed the force of the blow, kicked off the ground, and leaped more than ten feet away.

"Huh?" Hizashi, who had just thrown a punch, was startled.

He had felt that the force of his punch had not fully landed. By the time he came to his senses, Yizhe had already escaped his striking range.

"Kid, do you think you can get away just like that?" Hizashi smiled at the boy standing more than ten feet away.

Still, deep down, he admired the method Yizhe had used to break away.

Yizhe ignored him. The instant he landed, he retreated rapidly and formed hand seals with both hands.

"Too slow, kid!" Before the words had finished, a familiar figure had already rushed in front of Yizhe.

Pfft—

Hizashi struck Yizhe, who was still forming hand seals, with his palm.

The figure he hit dissolved into a stream of water and scattered across the ground.

Yet there was no surprise on Hizashi's face, as though he had already known that the Water Clone Technique was not Yizhe's real body.

It turned out that the instant Yizhe landed after using Hizashi's punch to break away, he had created a Water Clone Technique to remain on the ground and draw Hizashi's attention while he quietly leaped into the air.

Just as Hizashi struck the water clone, Yizhe, high in the air, had already completed another set of hand seals. He gathered chakra in his mouth, puffed out his cheeks, and fiercely sprayed downward at Hizashi.

"Water Release: Water Wave!"

A surging torrent burst from his mouth. Borrowing the recoil of the water flow, Yizhe once again moved farther away from Hizashi.

"Hmph! Naive! Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

Hizashi snorted, swung a palm upward over his head, and split the wave in two from afar. Water splashed everywhere and flowed across the ground.

It seemed he had long since discovered Yizhe above him.

"You've already learned Water Release? That truly surprises me! Do you have any other tricks?" Hizashi slowly turned around and smiled at Yizhe, who had landed not far behind him.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

The instant Yizhe landed, he had already completed another set of hand seals. He pressed one hand into the water created by the Water Wave that Hizashi had scattered.

From the very beginning, he had understood that it was impossible to ambush Hizashi from the sky. After all, the Byakugan was not to be underestimated.

His purpose had been to further widen the distance between himself and Hizashi, while creating the conditions to cast his next ninjutsu.

"Kid, don't tell me you think..."

"What?!" Hizashi was greatly startled.

A blue wall of water rose from the stream surrounding him, like a huge blue bowl turned upside down over Hizashi.

Only then did Hizashi realize that Yizhe had not used this ninjutsu to protect himself, but to trap him!

It seemed that using only fifty percent of his strength, he would have a hard time breaking this Water Formation Wall. With that in mind, Hizashi did not hurry to get out. Instead, he calmly stayed inside, wanting to see what other tricks Yizhe had up his sleeve.

"A safe environment for casting ninjutsu is ready! Now it's my turn!" Yizhe's lips curled upward.

"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet!"

His fingers flew as Yizhe completed another set of hand seals. A blue shark more than ten feet long emerged from the blue water wall, opened its jaws, and lunged at Hizashi.

"Kid, that alone won't work!" Hizashi said softly, casually shattering the blue shark with an Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm.

"Is that so, Uncle Hizashi?" Before his words had even finished, Yizhe had rushed to the water wall.

"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"

While Hizashi destroyed the shark, Yizhe had already completed the seals for the Water Prison Technique and thrust one hand into the water wall.

"What?!" "What?!"

Hiashi, watching from the side, and Hizashi, inside the arena, were both thoroughly shocked. They were amazed by the boy's hand seal speed, and even more amazed by his combat awareness.

The water wall that had been "protecting" Hizashi suddenly contracted, transforming into a water sphere roughly two meters wide and locking the unprepared Hizashi inside.

"Uncle Hizashi, you've lost this time!" Yizhe smiled at Hizashi in the water prison.

"Kid, why didn't you directly use the Water Prison Technique when you cast the Water Formation Wall?" Rather than admitting defeat, Hizashi asked with a curious expression.

"The Water Prison Technique's casting range is too short. I wasn't confident I could complete its hand seals before you counterattacked, Uncle!" Yizhe shook his head.

"So your purpose in casting the Water Formation Wall was to create a safe and suitable environment to use the Water Prison Technique?" Hizashi was no fool and immediately understood the key point.

"Then... the Water Shark Bullet was also meant to distract me and cover your approach, wasn't it?" Hizashi calmly deduced the details of the fight.

"Uncle Hizashi, it's time to admit defeat, isn't it?" Yizhe's expression tightened as he urged him.

After unleashing several ninjutsu in succession, he had little chakra left. Hizashi's calm demeanor instead gave him an uneasy feeling.

This probably isn't so simple! A bad premonition rose in him.

"Kid, let me teach you one more lesson!"

"No matter how favorable the situation, never underestimate any Upper Ninja-level expert! Even if he has lost most of his strength!" Hizashi roared.

In an instant, the boy sensed a powerful aura rising from within the water prison.

"Gentle Fist Art: One-Strike Body!"

A massive amount of chakra erupted from the chakra points all over Hizashi's body. It was as though an Explosive Tag had been thrown into the water prison, and the blue sphere abruptly doubled in size.

Bang—

The water sphere could not hold out any longer. With a bang, it exploded. The tremendous impact sent Yizhe flying.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

"Damn it!" Yizhe, who had just climbed to his feet, discovered that he was already within the Eight Trigrams Field and could not escape.

I have to go all out! Yizhe clenched his teeth and assumed a starting stance.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven!"

Before the words had faded, a rotating blue sphere of light emerged within Hizashi's Eight Trigrams Field. Unable to stop his attack in time, Hizashi struck directly into it.

Bang—

A tremendous rotational force hurled Hizashi away, smashing him through the courtyard wall.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"Kid, let's do it again! Keep fighting!" A dusty figure emerged from the rubble, brimming with excitement.

"Enough!"

"Big Brother..."

"I said, enough!"

Hiashi glared fiercely at Hizashi, his expression utterly resolute. Hizashi had no choice but to compromise.

"Yizhe's performance has already been excellent! With this single move, Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven, he has sufficient ability to protect himself. So long as he does not deliberately provoke an Upper Ninja-level opponent, he should be fine traveling outside. Even against a Chunin, he has a chance of winning!" Hiashi explained.

Whew—

Hearing the clan head's approval, Yizhe finally let out a breath of relief. His chakra was nearly exhausted. If they kept fighting, he would not last much longer.

"What a letdown! I was just getting into it!" Stopped by Hiashi, Hizashi muttered resentfully from the side.

"Lord Hiashi, about the village..."

"As for the village, I'll file the report for you when I return. Just leave without worry!"

Hiashi's promise dispelled Yizhe's concerns. He did not want to become a rogue ninja and be hunted by the village merely because he had gone out to train.

After their exchange, Hizashi chatted with Yizhe for a long time. Learning that he was leaving to train, Hizashi was quite reluctant to see him go, yet there was nothing he could do.

Early the next morning, while the sky was still dim, Yizhe packed his things and quietly left the village—left the place that had once made him feel warm, but now filled him with heartache.